Fairy Soap (1897)

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Racist Fairy Soap Ad (1897)

Fairy Soap is a brand of soap owned by N.K. Fairbank Company, around 1897. Nathaniel Kellogg 'N.K.' Fairbank (1829–1903) was a Chicago industrialist whose business was N.K. Fairbank Co. developed soap as well as animal and baked goods in collaboration with the large meatpacking establishments in northern Illinois. [1]

Fairy Soap was originally created by N.K. Fairbank, before Procter & Gamble buys it.

Controversy

It was predicted that this Fairy Soap ad probably appeared sometime after 1897, since N.K. Fairbank Co. was founded in 1875. As a company, N.K. Fairbank Company was in business from 1875 to 1921.

This commercial is rather controversial, as it featured a white boy asking a black kid, "Why doesn't your mom wash you with Fairy soap?" [2] It was indirectly implied that the black boy was filthy, and the soap being sold had the ability to alter the colour of the child's face. This ad is linked to the latest racist ad by Dove.

In this commercial, Fairy soap portrays a black infant as disgusting and incapable of any good quality. This ad emphasizes the white colour of the skin recognized in that era.

By the expression, "Why doesn't your mom shower you with Fairy Soap? "This ad also criticizes the preference of a black mother for a child's grooming and cleaning products and praises the mother of a white baby.

Reference